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Dave's new build

I just finished ordering the last things for my new hack bike. Unfortunately I went 11p over budget, with the sad result that, according to my spreadsheet, the bike will have cost £666.77 when all said and done. (I didn't try to engineer this!)

As I'm going to try and do it all myself, I thought I might make a wee topic with pics and observations. Hopefully it will turn into the ideal low maintenance cruiser, but we'll see...

Pompetamix frame: good honest steel, British made (which I think means made in the far East but designed by people who live here).

£169.99

Disc brake only, but drilled for full mudguards and pannier rack. Note the cunning position of the disc caliper to facilitate quite normal fitting of the above!

Has clearance for 35mm/1.5" tyres with full guards, which is what I've gone for (on which, more later).

The frame has track-style dropouts, and no gear hanger (or possibility of fitting one). This is the main difference between the Pompetamix and Kaffenback, which has interchangeable dropouts - but the latter was £40 more expensive, plus then required the purchase of the relevant dropouts on top...

Hub geared, but a bit leftfield (Sturmey Archer S5C). I spent years when I was working in Fife riding fixed-wheel, but that wouldn't work for anywhere that involved commuting Liberton Brae and similar!

@Tom - the frame was painted after the threads were cut, so it will need to have them chased out The BB and head/seat tubes were masked though, so they look OK.

I'm not sure whether I need to have the headtube and BB faced and reamed though. If it was done before the frame was painted, it would only need a little sanding.

I have a sturmey archer 3spd which is not quite enough for me on Balerno hills. TBC put it on my specialized crossroads [following my disagreements with Shimano Nexus 8] which is far too heavy a frame [also 10mm too wide for 3/5 spd sturmeys] wish I had gone for the 5 spd, but still fun to ride [e.g. along canal / puddle path from Glasgow]

I didn't realise until yesterday that Laid-Back's Paper Bicycle has just the same front hub as I am considering - SA dynamo/drum.

I took it for a spin yesterday and couldn't tell whether the dynamo was on or off except by holding my hand in front of the light. I'm rather a sensitive soul so this was a pleasing revelation.

What's more, the braking was fine too (many people on the internet suggest that drum brakes are a bit shabby). Very different feel from my discs, but in no way inadequate... even better once broken in apparently.

I dropped the frame in at the Bicycle Works just now, agreeing that it ought really to be properly faced rather than done by me in the communal stairs with sandpaper (as I've been assured that this, my first steel bike, has a lifespan of around 20,000 years if I don't get it wrong...)

The headset I got from On-One is pretty, well, "distinctive" would be a kind term I suppose. It promises to outlast the cockroaches, so I thought it might be a good choice... but I didn't realise until it got here that the lower race, as well as having complicatedly invincible sealing, also runs on oversize bearings.

I'll post a pic when I get it back from the shop on Tuesday, and you'll see what I mean...

My old 1970s Raleigh Twenty is a similar colour, I believe the official moniker is 'Coffee', but it is more a dark bronze (like you get on some bags of coffee beans from the supermarket). It has little metallic flecks in the paint. I'm sure there are Ford Pintos in this exact colour in 1970s movies like 'Serpico', etc.

Anyway, the proliferation of all these browns and the way manufacturers try to hide their 'brownness' is quite amusing. Anth's beige - sorry, I meant 'sand' - frame for example...

went on the on one website - lovely merino long sleeve at bargain of £19.99 oh except all out of stock apart from XS. If that is your size the jersey v. nice. Similarly on their other long sleeve jerseys - nice light blue one if you are not so big. Quite funny description of why price was so cheap (£9.99) - jerseys packed not quite dry. Suggestion that if you bought one and it didn't fit, you should buy another one rather than send it back.

@kaputnik - obviously! Although perhaps a mesh basket would be the smart choice... comes pre-drilled for light weight, extremely aero (in fact it just whispers through the air I'm about to pass my body through). What's not to like?

Yes, perhaps I will be able to find post-industrial derelicts on my commute to pose for citycycling shots?

At the moment I'm riding a Revolution Triad which tops out at under 80" and has 100mm of coil sprung fork with no lockout... so I either need to get this bike on the road or get my lowracer rebuilt before I go mad.

You mentioned you are putting pursuit bars on it Dave and the rear hub brake will be a coaster. Are you going to use a "regular" brake lever on the flat or end of the bar, or are you going with a TT-style plug in lever?